Tuesday, 20 January 2009

Heaven, I'm in Heaven....

Any one who reads this blog regularly, will know that I can be a little obsessive about things. I have a discovered a passion for bread making that has taken over my life. I read bread books, blogs and any article I can find about bread baking. I ask to speak to the baker in every shop I go into, just to see if they have a secret they are willing to share.



My latest quest lead me to A Year in Bread.
I really wanted to be able to make a farm style bread, that was light and fluffy like commercial bread, without the conditioners and additives they use.

I took this recipe and changed it slightly by:-
  • adding the juice of half a lemon to the warmed milk, in order to sour it. I read somewhere that this improves the flavour and texture.
  • I also halved the recipe, but kept the oil quantity at 2 Tablespoons.
  • I used the dough cycle on my bread machine and then baked it in the oven. It makes 1, 900g loaf and 4 hamburger size rolls.
  • I also baked them on my pizza stone, this definitely improved the heat distribution.
  • After it was finished baking, I used a tip my Mother gave me, and brushed the top with a little oil (or you can use butter).
The texture and the taste is perfect - light, fluffy and soft with a slightly crisp crust.

I would really encourage you to try making your own bread, it really is so easy and the difference in taste is so amazing, you'll never look back.

I offer you... The Perfect Loaf

3 comments:

Nina Timm said...

I love it...a woman on a mission!!!! The bread looks divine!

Jeanne said...

Oooh - that loaf looks specatular! Bread is the FInal Frontier to me - I am for some reason super-nervous of making it. Also, with only 2 of us in the house we don't eat that much and I'd hate the fruits of my labours to go to waste ;-)

Homemade Heaven said...

Nina - I really am, it would seem that nothing other than bread makes it to a meal.

Jeanne - This recipe is nice, because the loaf is small and the rolls you can freeze. Surprisingly for home made, this bread is as nice today as it was yesterday.

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water."

It is not your business to succeed, but to do what is right : when you have done so, the rest lies with God.
C.S. Lewis

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